French Higher Court Increases Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator

A man was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his conviction. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that lady.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the process of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a court psychologist that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.